Arguably one of the most famous Mexican actors ever to grace the silver screen, Jorge Negrete is an icon in his own right. And while his recording of “México Lindo y Querido” remains a classic, the Guanajuato-born performer also left a vast filmography that can feel daunting to anyone eager to check out his work. With 44 films under his belt (10 of which co-starred Golden Age starlet Gloria Marín), it’s hard to know where to begin. Do you first turn to the Mexican films that gave him a leg up? Do you take in some of the movies he worked on in Hollywood and Havana? Do you take a gander at the charro films that made him a star? Do you try and see the film where he first worked with his later wife María Félix?
Those are all valid questions to ask about the imposing actor who’s most often compared to his close friend Pedro Infante. But perhaps the most valuable one to tackle in the age of streaming is: which ones are readily available to watch? Alas, that somewhat narrows down our options since Mexico’s Golden Age flicks are harder to come by than we’d like. Nevertheless, we’ve found five Negrete films that show off the dashing mustachioed leading man in all his charro glory and that are available online.
Siempre tuya
Available to stream via Amazon.
This black and white film starring Jorge Negrete and Gloria Marín follows Ramón García and his wife Soledad as they’re displaced from Zacatecas and begin to make their life anew in Mexico City.
Camino de Sacramento
Available to stream via Amazon.
In a kind of twist of the Prince and the Pauper tale, Jorge Negrete starred as two twin brothers unaware of each other’s existence in Camino de Sacramento. In Sacramento, Mexico, lives the good-hearted Antonio Ruiz, a bandit better known as ‘El Halcon,’ while in Seville, Spain, lives Juan Ruiz, an upstanding lawyer. Each believes their respective twin brother to have died. But when Juan finds himself in Sacramento face to face with his estranged brother, they decide to team up to fight against Enrique Ledesma, the governor of Sacramento, who murdered their father. As if that wasn’t drama enough, the brothers find themselves smitten with the same alluring woman, Luisa (played by Charito Granados), making for an awkward love triangle.
Historia de un gran amor
Available to stream via Amazon.
Manuel Venegas returns to his town to seduce Soledad, the love of his life, whom he’d spent his entire childhood pining over despite the animosity between their fathers. But much to his surprise, he finds she’s married someone else while he was away making a fortune for himself, in hopes of righting the wrongs his own father had committed against Soledad’s own. Ashamed of having not waited for him and eager to rekindle their passion, the two young lovers will do anything to get back together, even if it means deadly consequences.
Dos tipos de cuidado
Available to stream via Amazon.
Bringing together two of Mexico’s biggest stars, Dos tipos de cuidados is the opposite of a buddy comedy — more like an enemy dramedy. The film follows two lifelong friends who get embattled in a bitter feud when Pedro Malo (Pedro Infante) lives up to his name and marries Rosario (Carmelita González), who’d been Jorge Bueno’s (Jorge Negrete) girlfriend before. Following the ever-escalating rivalry (which, given Infante and Negrete’s musical chops involves several serenatas), Ismael Rodríguez’s classic film captures the legendary performers doing what they do best.
Lluvia roja
Available to stream via Amazon.
Mexico 1923. Colonel Montero (Jorge Negrete) has just killed a man, an event that shocks the town and drives everyone there into a frenzy. The townspeople is out for blood, hoping to exact revenge on Montero, but the wily colonel will do everything he can to protect not just his life but that of his beloved Elisa (Elsa Aguirre), the doting wife who’ll stand by him no matter what.